From: mcdent@aol.com (Adam Carlton) Subject: A Scrub's Origins PTQ Report (7/19)... Date: Sun, 20 Jul 1997 20:15:42 GMT How a Mirage Baby almost reached the final 8 at the Origins PTQ Let me start by saying I started playing Magic in November 1996 (Mirage was just out), so I may say something dumb or inaccurate, but oh well! This was only the 4th tournament I've ever entered (2 sealed deck and 1 MiVi constructed) so I didn't expect to do well but my friends have encouraged me that my skills are much better and my deck is good. I arrived a little late on Saturday to enter the PTQ after I heard that the prior day didn't start until 10:15 (supposed to be there at 8:00!!). I was tossing around 2 decks, 1 was just for playing maybe as a goof: a mono-green, snake basket/bubble matrix horde deck, or a mono-blue fliers/phasers deck. I decided on the mono-blue deck as I felt like it could do very well in this environment, and I really didn't want to have the agony of losing 2 matches in a row for $20. I didn't take notes during the match, so forgive me for any missing details. Anybody who I say bad things about I will just use their first name! Match 1, Table 68 Playing Carl (gonna say some bad things) Black/blue/red best of the best deck? 1st game was ugly. My fliers hit the table, anything he casts goes to his hand or back to his library. He's playing with 3 gemstone mines on the table, and 1 swamp or something like that. Severe flier beatdown, his mines fade out, he concedes at like 8 life Game 2, same thing. He complains about getting mana screwed. I point out that we both had 4 land on both games, doesn't seem to get through to him that he was NOT mana screwed, his deck was just reliant on multi colors, and I never consider that 4 land is a mana screw. Oh well. Match Record 1-0 Games 2-0 Match 2, Table 25 Dennis Lee Dennis was a really cool guy playing blue/white abeyance nastiness. I was surprised how well my deck did against his. Game 1, battle for control, he doesn't get enough land to get going…abeyances a few times, tosses some Ophidians down, then I man-o-war, memory lapse, etc. and get the fliers going. He dies. Game 2 same story. For the heck of it, and because I want to test against this type of deck I play a 3rd game against him. He gets the mana he needs, but my illusionist hits the table, then a 2nd, and it's a slow death for him. I'm pleased that my deck does so well against white/blue abeyance control. I end up seeing Dennis later on during the match, his deck does very well against the rest of the field. Match Record 2-0 Games 4-0 Match 3, Table 8 Kevin Lacker I'm at table 8 at feeling really good! He's playing another "best of the best" deck, which I fell like my deck does the best against. I can disrupt the board much better than these 3 color decks. Game 1, don't remember the details on this match, won Game 2, same story Match Record 3-0 Games 6-0 Holy cow I'm doing great! But now I'm a little nervous. I'm going to be playing the big boys, cause I have one of the best records. Match 4, Table 3 Sean Tripp Sean is a cool guy that I got to know later in the tourney who has already qualified for the PTQ. When he told me that I had visions going through my head of offering him bribes, etc. to concede. I'm thinking "Come on, give this scrub a chance to go...you're already going". But I know it's a no go, I'd never do it and of course he wouldn't either. Game 1, Oh crap it's the deck I fear, a modified ertai's familiar/necratog/tombstone stairwell deck. But I still feel confident against it if I get the correct draw. I can control the necratog's, and boomerang the tombstone, but I don't get a chance. I don't seem to get the draw or the mana I need to control the board. I lose a drawn out game 1. Time to sideboard...oops I've made a big mistake, I don't have Phyrexian Furnaces in my sideboard. Turns out to be 1 of my deckbuilding errors. I rarely sideboarded all day, but this time it would have really helped. Game 2, a brutal game, I can't get control again…no creatures, no mana. I manage to catch him returning a tapped island so he loses a Waterspout but its not enough. I get swept. Sigh. Match Record 3-1 Games 6-2 Match 5, Table 10 Steven Parks This is another one that memory fails me on...I think it was blue red. Nice enough guy...too shook up from my first lost to even remember anything about it. Game 1, Not a problem Game 2, Not a problem Match Record 4-1, Games 8-2 Match 6, Table 5 Mike (someone else I'm gonna hack on) Uh oh, here is the ole burn, burn, burn deck. But I feel confident against it. If I get a decent draw, he will die to the flier beatdown. Game 1, I'm not sure why yet, but he is playing with Undiscovered Paradise and Gemstones (I guess for Honorable Passage/disenchant/maybe a few other goodies like Nek/man-o-war). And that seems to be all he draws. He never gets enough mana on the board, tries to burn me some but can't stand up to the fliers and the illusionist Game 2, I make the mistake of sideboarding in Suck Firewalkers. I really hate these things because I always end up using them as a blocker. Why didn't they just make the darn things Prot Red. Oh well, that's the only creature I get out, as I only draw 3 land the whole match…torch, bolt, fireblast. Boy it takes creativity to make these decks. Game 3, This time I leave the firewalkers out, and I put in 2 shimmers. Boom, in my opening hand, 4 land and a boomerang and a man-o-war. I lay an Island, he lays a mountain. I lay an island, he lays an Undiscovered paradise, taps them for something (some weenie critter) and I say cool, then boomerang his mountain. Bye Bye 2 land. Turn 3 I lay an island, man-o-war his critter. He lays a mountain, cast a keeper of kookus. Turn 4 I attack, kill his critter, lay an island, lay shimmer. Boom. Timewalk for me every other turn. Later on he manages to get an AEther Flash down, I have an illusionist and a breezekeeper on the table, and think (hmm, 12 4/4 fliers, I'm cool with that). He bolts my illusionist, I phase it out. He phases back in. "He's dead" he says…. "No friggin way" I say. 20 minutes later the Head Judge rules that phasing in does not trigger any "coming into play" effects, just like on the Neks and Man-o-wars. I was cool until this point, where he starts whining "I played the last 3 turns on the premise that he would die when he phases in". Too bad. You should have got a ruling 3 turns ago instead of assuming. He dies, I'm at 20 life. Heh. This guy tears up his Undiscovered Paradises and Gemstone Mines at the end of the tourney. What a baby. Match record 5-1, Games 10-3 Match 7 Table 2 (I got randomly paired with an undefeated player…that sucked) Elija? Festel (spelled wrong but I can't read his name) This guy had the most original, terrifying deck I've seen yet. More scary than Bloom/Drain, and just as deadly. I was scared because I had a large creature base, with some counter magic, but not near enough to hold off 8 poises or Sands. He offered to draw with me, and like a complete idiot I said no, even though I was 90% sure I would lose. Sands of Time/Equipoise is too fragile? Not in this deck. I don't have the contents, and I wouldn't post them anyway (go make up your own), but is was essentially 8 tutors, 8 SoT/Equi, Desolation, dark rituals, and lands that went away (paradise or Lotus Vales). He ended up 7-0-1, I don't know how he finished in the final 8. He said he averaged getting the lock down on turn 5-6. OW! Game 1, turn 4 or 5 lock, I concede Game 2, turn 8 lock, I concede. Boomerangs/memory lapses do you no good with 1 land. In retrospect this deck can be beat. 4 Disempower, 4 disenchant, abeyance and counterspells could beat it, but can that beat anything else in the field? Is this the new bloom/drain deck? More on my opinions on the deck later. Match Record 5-2, Games 10-4 Match 8 Dennis Nichols Well I couldn't quit now, and I was playing for the fun of it. So was Dennis, but of course we both played pretty seriously. Dennis was my favorite opponent of the day, I wish all matches could be played serious but FUN! Game 1, 3 Island in first 15 cards, enough said for my deck. Game 2, Dennis was playing a really cool black/blue/white? deck that abused the heck out of infernal tribute. This game was very close but he couldn't control the board like I could. Flier beatdown. Game 3, I really dominated this game. Drew 2 undo's in my opening hand. Held them for a long time. Then he finally casts a waterspout, man-o-war, counter. Later he casts a hidden horror and a spout. Undo, attack. Gets a spout and a cloud elemental on the table. Undo, attack. Game over...fun games Dennis, congrats on your unique deck. Final Results Match 6-2, Games 12-5, finished 13 (out of about 160) In matches I won, my record was 12-2. Very consistent and strong, I will be playing this deck again at the next PTQ! I don't know the results of the final 8, you'll have to find them on another post. Abstract thoughts on the Sands of Time/Equipoise deck: I hate it/love it. I love it because it wins. I hate it, like I hate any lock down deck. Here is my crude analogy: If you have ever watched The Ultimate Fighting Championship there are basically 2 types of fighters: Fighters and grapplers. The grapplers attempt to put some type locking hold on the opponent. Boring to watch, annoying to fight against, and really not in the true spirit of a good brawl. This deck is exactly that…I came to fight and here you are pinning me down twisting my leg until I say I quit. Oh well...just another opinion in a sea of many. I welcome comments to this post, which is my first tourney report, and I humbly beg all of you to visit my magic site on-line and buy some cards or trade with me!! Adam Carlton Hoping to qualify at Gen-Con.